Road to Santiago – Seed

Carpe Diem #1120 Seed

As a child our gym teacher assigned each group of student’s type of dance but offered no direction.  We were to make up a dance and then preform it at paren’s night.   My group had modern dance and were to be seeds turning to oak trees.  We borrowed leotards to wear for our dance.  We thought we were wonderful, but afterwards we saw a tape that showed the regrettable truth.

cradled on the floor
as music rises so do dancers
bursting out of the ground
reaching for the sun, leaping
across stage barefoot and smiling

Still someday, maybe I’ll have the courage to dance with out fear, to be the seed that finally becomes a strong oak.

getting in touch
with the inner self
once again a child

 

 

Seven Days Before Christmas 2016 #6 Meditation

Carpe Diem Seven Days Before Christmas 2016 #6 meditation

Christmas eve
worshiping in darkened church
passing candle light

I love decorating for Christmas and seeing all the lights, but all the shopping and commercialism are a bit much.  I really try not to be drug into all this and try to focus on the true meaning of the season, peace

in a manger
noisy and cold
a babe is born

~~~

with ons voice
we can stand against
intolerance

Raindrops

Carpe Diem #1082 Raindrops (Chopin)

quiet afternoon
raindrops dance softly
on the tin roof
cat lounges by the hearth
tail twitching to the beat

Cry the Blues for Sharon Jones

Carpe Diem Tanka Splendor #22 Teika’s 8th Tanka Writing Technique – Novel Treatment (prompt: blues)

Although Miss Sharon Jones was not a blues singer, my heart sings the blues.  I was saddened to hear of her death last week. Sharon Jones of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings was a funk and soul singer.  If you ever had the privilege to attend one of her performances you will know of the incredible energy she brought with her to the stage.   Sharon Jones was an incredibly  brave woman. who succumbed to cancer.  Similar to my best friend, she too won her first battle with cancer only to have it come back and claim her life.

dimmed lights
the stage echoes with silence
the energy is gone
blues takes over my soul
the queen of funk has died

~~~

changing stages
Sharon Jones now plays
with a celestial band

Gentle Scent of Lavender

Carpe Diem Imagination with Paul Militaru #2 “gentle scent of lavender”

after gardening
the scent of lavender
follows me indoors

   “`

lavender’s soft scent
drifts across my pillow
moonless night

Dawn

Carpe Diem #1014 dawn

“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.”  Rabindranath Tagore

predawn  darkness
the birds rejoice –
new day coming

~~~

sun sinks below pond
birds tuck in for the night
awaiting a new day

~~~

i breath a prayer
itoto the still dark air
inhaling mimosa

Fishing

Carpe Diem #960 fishing

 

imaginary poles
my young men fish
from a cardboard  box

 

 

“Time Flies”

Heeding Haiku With Chèvrefeuille, January 13th 2016

Write a haibun inspired on the proverb “time flies if you have fun”. And (of course) I have a few restrictions to it. Here they are:

1. start with a haiku and end with a haiku
2. try to place your haibun (and the haiku) in one of the four seasons, you may choose the season yourself
3. your haibun may have a maximum of 250 words, including the haiku

mid summer’s day
children shout and play
laughter ringing

“Time flies when you are having fun.” My memories take me back to my youth and outdoor play with the neighbors.  Summer fun included baseball and badminton, moss pots in the creak, hide and seek and tag, as well as playing in the hose.. Then suddenly I am transported to a different time, that of my own children’s childhood. Playing follow the leader, lawn croquet, reading on the porch swing and taking walks. The summers pass by so quickly. I look in the mirror and see grey hair. Yet summer ever lingers and now it is my grandchildren running across the yard, still playing croquet and catching lightening bugs.  As the light fades,  I sit on the porch swing listening to the last sounds of summer and the creaking swing.

at summer’s end
past and present mingle
time gone to soon

 

Rainy Season – haibun

Carpe Diem #768 tsuyu (rainy season)

This has been an exceptionally rainy summer.  Wind and storm damage are great.  Even the sodden grown cannot hold stately trees.

The apple tree
during the rainy season
bows to the ground

I spend time looking down at the clouds captured in the new formed lake in my yard.

reflected clouds
captured in a puddle
dreams drown

~~~

In pools of water
clouds float calmly
over drown trees

Following the rains new growth is everywhere.

fields of green
dotted with Queen Anne’s lace
after the rains

mushrooms spring up in unexpected places.

after the rains
mushrooms spring up
all over the lawn

~~~

fairy cups
cover the garden soil
on a sodden day

I will be glad for sum sunshine and dry feet.

A Falling Sound

On The Trail With Basho Encore 5 a falling sound

This haiku was written by Basho in spring 1666 short after the unexpected dead of his friend, Yoshitada. Basho was almost 22 years of age when he wrote this haiku.

uru oto ya mimi mo su-naru ume no ame

a falling sound
that sours my ears
plum rain                    © Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Written today the after the news of my dear friend Cathy’s passing.

~~~

rain on the tin roof
no longer music to my ears
empty garden

as the bells ring
my heart trembles
falling petals